According to an article in the Indy Star by Heather Gillers, Sen. Miller is preparing to introduce legislation that would require criminal background checks as part of the nurse licensing process. Indiana is one of only a few states that do not require criminal background checks for nurses, and the Indy Star did a report on nurses who had been charged or convicted of crimes involving prescription drugs, alcohol and violence.
The Star published its investigation’s into nurse background checks Thursday as time was running out for the state to apply for the federal funding for background checks for workers in nursing homes, assisted living and other types of long-term care facilities.
The federal program included some measures not part of Miller’s proposal so far. For example, the state and employer would be immediately notified by police if any employees — not just nurses — committed a crime.
But the federal program would have governed only nursing home and other long-term-care nurses. Miller’s plan would require background checks and monitoring for all licensed nurses, no matter where they work.
The Daniels’ administration declined to pursue $3 million in federal funds because the State match of $1 million was too steep. Sen. Miller shares those concerns. The costs of her legislation would be designed to shift costs of implementation away from the State; and presumably on to nurses.
Just a brief note about the issue of grant money. This process where a unit of government is granted money from the feds or some other governmental or quasi-governmental organization in exchange for a match of some sort and being required to meet a set of guidelines is very, very common. I know it varies depending on units of government, but I wonder in general what percentage of various government spending is from grant money and what percentage of grant money is consumed by costs of administering the grant. It seems like a very inefficient process.
I have been curious what the process is for doctors since we are so focused on nurses. I know they have to answer a question on their relicensing form on arrests but I don’t think the state does background checks on them either.
You can view conducting background checks as a liability, but when you think about it you are really just protecting an investment. If you are going to hire nurses you want to hire the best ones you can. Conducting a background check can not only save you money in lawsuits, but also protect your workers as well as your patients.
The facility I work for did an extensive background check on me. It’s just the company’s policy. Also, all nurses’ licenses are checked for “tags” or suspensions, etc. I had no idea facilities were not required to do a check. I even had to have one when I was in school before I could do clinical. I think this article makes things sound worse than they really are. I can’t imagine a nursing facility that doesn’t check their employees’ backgrounds. Why can’t the state require nursing facilities to do background checks and also pay for it? Because they are already doing so.
Indiana won’t spend the money on these background checks.
I wish there was a member of the Indiana media who had some chutzpah to ask Daniels questions concerning the state’s priorities, instead of just sucking up to him.